Nadda meets Prez on NEET row

5/26/2016

NEW DELHI: Consultations regarding the legality and urgency of the ordinance to exclude states from the common medical entrance test NEET continued till late at night at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday after health minister JP Nadda met President Pranab Mukherjee to clarify on a few points raised by him. and later the ministry sent an explanation on various issues.

Health ministry sources indicated a strong possibility of the ordinance getting the presidential nod before Mukherjee's departure for China on Tuesday. Even after meeting Nadda, the President had sought clarification on several issues for which the health ministry sent a long note.

Nadda's meeting with Mukherjee lasted more than half-an-hour and the minister was learnt to have briefed the President on a number of issues, including different exams of state boards, syllabi and regional languages, applicability on PG courses and private medical colleges.

Health ministry sources said during the meeting, some fresh information was sought by the President. The President had earlier asked the health ministry to explain the reason for taking the ordinance route to keep state boards out of the ambit of NEET.

The meeting between the President and the Health Minister was "satisfactory", sources said. The ordinance was sent to the President on Saturday. Nadda was to attend a global health summit in Geneva but had to cancel the trip to meet the President.

The ordinance, cleared by the Cabinet earlier on Friday, is aimed at "partially" overturning the SC order which said all government colleges, deemed universities and private medical colleges would be covered under NEET.